Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has revealed he rejected Chelsea in the summer before securing a £67m move to Anfield.

The Blues were looking for a replacement for the Real Madrid bound Thibaut Courtois and had set their sights on the Roma shot-stopper.

However, the Brazilian said he rejected the London club’s advances in favour of a move to Liverpool because the Reds had Champions League football and Chelsea didn’t have a manager at the time:

“I chose Liverpool for the same reasons I went to Roma when I first left Brazil – I thought this would be the best move for my career. Chelsea were changing their manager and not playing in the Champions League. I’ve also always admired Liverpool’s history.”

“This is a club with five European Cups in their trophy cabinet. I really wanted to be part of that history. I came very close to winning the competition with Roma and I’m working hard to make it happen now with Liverpool.”

Alisson has been a tremendous success since moving to Merseyside, having the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Premier League.

There have been a couple of mistakes, most notably against Leicester City and Manchester United, but he has proven to be a massive upgrade on previous custodians Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet.

Chelsea, meanwhile, broke the world record transfer fee for a keeper, which was briefly held by Alisson, to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £72m.